good morning. out of gas. for the first time in decades, gas rationing begins today in new jersey amid long lines and flaring tempers. while across the river, the new york city marathon is cancelled after officials came under fire for planning to run a race as people here are struggling to survive. we've got it all covered live. three days and counting. president obama and governor romney make their final appearances in battleground states as we inch closer to election day. this morning, the results of our new polling in the states that just might decide this election. and, welcome erica. say hello to the newest member of the "today" family, my new co-anchor erica hill. we can't wait for her to get started today, saturday november 3rd, 2012.

>> from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," decision 2012. with lester holt and erica hill. live from democracy plaza. and a big good morning to everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt here on democracy plaza, our home for nbc's election coverage, all the way through tuesday. but i am right now pleased to welcome my new co-host erica hill. great to have you here. before we get started, there is a bit of a tradition we like to do to welcome you folks. jeff, please. >> and erica hill. >> that has a nice ring to it. i'm not going to lie. >> when you heard the -- your heart beats. >> it's true, that music. someone asked me what are you most liking forward to in that first day? i said one of the things i'm really excited about is hearing that music in my ear. it's a big moment. it's really an honor to join this program. >> you're in a great place and

we are thrilled to have you. and we'll hear more about you a little later. >> i'm a little worried about everything you'll learn about me, but hopefully you'll stay with us. we do have a lot to get to. we are covering two big stories, of course. there is the countdown to election day and the aftermath of hurricane sandy. >> right now, this region is still reeling, but starting to make progress five days after hurricane sandy hit. today, gas rationing begins in new jersey, while people across the eastern seaboard are still trying to pick up the pieces. if they can get gas to move somewhere. can it be done? can new york city do anything to avoid ending up being under water again? we've got it covered. also, important tips for you on how you can clean up from the storm and make sure you're ready before that next big one comes along. >> later on, some of new york's most famous natives held a telethon for hurricane sandy victims. matt lauer was the host. bruce springsteen, jon bon jovi, and billy joel helped raise money. we'll show you some highlights.

>> it was quite a show. we are also live on the campaign trail as president obama and governor romney crisscross the country with just three days to go now until election day. with the race neck and neck, we'll take a look at how hurricane sandy and friday's job numbers could affect the race. we want to begin with the aftermath of hurricane sandy. we have complete coverage for you this morning from the clean to -up to the gas and food lines. we begin with the cancellation of the new york city marathon for the first time in its history. stephanie gosk. >> reporter: new york has been holding the marathon since 1970. this is the first time it's been cancelled. but since the moment mayor michael bloomberg said it was going to be cancelled, the anger started to grow. it was just among the victims, it was also their public officials, a number of them, and even runners themselves that were beginning to feel and

worried that some of the researchers critically needed in this city would be diverted, but on top of that, that this would lack sensitivity. the race itself started in staten island and winds through all five boroughs. staten island is perhaps worst hit by this storm, with more than 20 people killed. they are still pulling bodies out of some of those homes. it's still a recovery there. and houses have been levelled. now, it finally hit a tipping point, mayor bloomberg said all along that he wanted the city to get the $340 million it brings in and he wanted this event to unify the city. he said it was not doing that. his office released the following statement. he said "we would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, so we have decided the cancel it. we cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event, even one as meaningful as this, to distract aattention from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from

the storm and get our city back on track. so relief today for some of those critics, but it will be short-lived because this city still has a lot of recovery to do. erica? >> stephanie gosk, thank you. three and a half million homes and businesses are still without power along the east coast this morning. while the power will slowly return, it will take a lot longer for residents and places like staten island to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. michelle franzen is there for us. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. those pieces are big. as you can see behind me, some of the damage here in staten island from these big boats tossed along the water, slamming up into homes, to inland where sandy's surge and forceful winds wiped out homes and flooded areas, as many as 500 people are estimated to be living in shelters here in staten island. many of them also feeling forgotten or overlooked for days following sandy, saying they needed desperate supplies. those arrived in big form yesterday in the form of fema,

red cross, and the national guard moving in with that much-needed aid after days of criticism. janet napolitano promised that there would be more aid flowing in and a lot more help. meantime, across new york's harbor to lower manhattan, the power is slowly being restored to areas that have been darkened all week since sandy's storm moved in and subway surf vis is slowly coming back online after the tunnels were flooded. and all around jersey's shore, new york's governor chris christie -- new jersey's governor chris christie is warning folks before they go back home of the devastation they may see and many of the homes they are hoping to get to may not even be there. once again, here's erica. >> if you want food or gasoline in the northeast, you should be prepared to wait in line. lines that are sometimes miles

long. katie is live outside a gas station. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you are going to wait and wait and wait. we are on 44th street here in manhattan. the line yesterday reached all the way down to 14th street. you cannot even see all the cars that went down from here. 26 new york city blocks. this morning, it is much of the same. new jersey, you're seeing the same sort of lines that go on for miles. what does everybody want? they want gas. the lines are long and open gas stations are few and far between. new york and jersey sites are searching to find those open stations and when they do, they've got to act fast. >> they said this station was moving real fast, and we came over. >> reporter: and thanks to some political muscle, help is on the way. >> we understand why there was a shortage. the harbor is now open. there should be a real change in

condition and people should see it quickly. >> reporter: while governor cuomo and homeland security secretary janet napolitano are waiving rules to get more tanker deliveries, new jersey governor chris christie is working on getting power to the pumps. >> we need to do much better. and so today, i've assigned the head of the economic development authority michelle brown to work with the private sector and fema to get the problem moving. >> reporter: one more thing in short supply, blood. the red cross is urging everyone to donate. and other than a few moments of frustration -- >> ask that cabbie why he cut the line. >> reporter: patience isn't in short supply just yet. >> considering there's a catastrophe all around us, got to do what we've got to do. stay patient. >> reporter: so far, so good with the patience. over in new jersey, governor christie is trying to alleviate it by starting to ration the gas. if you have an odd numbered license plate you can get it on

an odd number day. if you have an even number license plate, you can get it on an even number day. what does that remind everybody? the jimmy carter days in the '70s when there was a shortage. here it really is a shortage of power. guys? >> katy, thank you. now to the race for the white house with election day just three days away, president obama and governor romney are making their final arguments to voters this weekend. we have correspondents following both campaigns and want to begin with kristin welker in minter, ohio. kristin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. it is really no surprise that president obama is kicking off the weekend here in ohio. this state is really key to his midwest firewall. if mitt romney doesn't win ohio, it is very unlikely that he will hold on to the presidency. according to our latest nbc news "wall street journal" marist poll, president obama has an honest lead here in ohio. let's take a look at the latest numbers. according to our poll, president

obama has a six-point lead in the buckeye state, which is unchanged from last month. he's gotten high marks after hurricane sandy with seven in ten voters approving of his handling of the storm and he has a slight edge when it comes to handling the economy. 48% say mr. obama would do a better job compared to 46% who side with romney. on friday, mr. obama made a three-stop blitz here in ohio, staking his closing argument on the auto bailout, which is widely popular here. and which republicans oppose. he also slammed romney for claiming that jeep is shipping jobs to china. it's a claim the romney campaign defends that has been widely discredited. take a listen to what president obama had to say. >> the car companies themselves have told governor romney to knock it off. gm said we think creating jobs in the united states should be a source of bipartisan pride. and i couldn't agree more. >> reporter: now early voting

has begun here in ohio with 35% saying they've already voted early or plan to do so. obama is leading among those voters 62-36%, but romney is up among election day voters 52-42%. the fact that president obama has a number of planned visits here in ohio before election day suggests that the obama campaign is not satisfied that they have locked down this state. as for the president's state of mind, david axelrod said the president is exhilarated and that his stump speech is "coming from his loins." lester, back to you, and i want erica to the nbc family. >> kristin, thank you. it's great to be here. we also want to check in now with peter alexander joining us from newington, new hampshire. peter, good morning. >> reporter: adding my voice to that chorus, of course, welcoming you here today. we are in new hampshire where mitt romney is going to kick off this day after an exhaustive

18-hour day friday. listen to his schedule. he starts here in new hampshire, heads to iowa, to colorado, back to iowa, then to ohio, to pennsylvania, and virginia, and then he sleeps tomorrow night in florida. that's just the next 36 hours. the real priority right now for the romney campaign is trying to drive upturnout for their candidate last night. governor romney was greeted by his largest campaign rally. there were about 30,000 people in ohio, including a lineup of top republican leaders. this is what the campaign referred to as the closing argument over the course of yesterday, effectively indicting president obama's record. he said the president promised change but didn't deliver it. he said he is promising change but has the record to achieve it and he referred to his campaign as a movement. >> it's the depth of our shared conviction, our readiness for new possibilities, the sense that our work is soon to begin. it's made me strive more to be worthy of your support.

>> reporter: so now governor romney is going to move across the country. he does have a challenge ahead of him here. while most of the races are tight, one of the critical races is the battleground state of florida. as you see now, governor romney trails the president by two percentage points. romney and his team are confident right now, though, that they're going to win this thing. >> peter alexander, thank you. as we just mentioned, peter laid out those numbers for you in florida. the latest nbc news "wall street journal" marist poll also shows the state of ohio where president obama has a six-point lead over governor romney. as we take a closer look at those numbers, we're joined by chris matthews, the host of msnbc's "hardball" and john harwood, cnbc's chief washington correspondent. good morning to both of you. nice to have both of you here this morning. chris, as we look at these numbers, as peter just laid out for us, the romney campaign is

really trying to drive upturnout at this point. if those numbers hold with our polling in ohio, is there a path to victory for mitt romney without ohio? >> well, who knows. i think ohio is probably going to go for the president. i'm looking at pennsylvania. i think they haven't spent the time there. romney is going into this weekend -- they think they've got an outside chance at pennsylvania. i don't follow all this theory that it all comes down to ohio. i do think there are a lot more states in play. watching these things and make predictions about presidential election for so long and i always go with one simple principle. look at the numbers on thursday and project the direction they're going in. the direction right now, although it's mild, is definitely going towards obama. so he will be better off on monday and tuesday than he is right now. i really think that's the strongest thing to look at. i think romney's got a problem with his dishonest ad -- objectively dishonest about jeep. his opposition to the existence of fema. his opposition to the bailout of

the auto industry. these are objective facts he has against him. and pretty good job numbers on friday. put it all together with governor christie collaboration this week with the president and you see an effective president looking like a good president this week. and i think that's the last big picture the voters are going to see. >> chris brought up the auto bailout, which we've heard so much about during this campaign. if the president does win a second term, could governor romney's op-ed from four years ago end up being a deciding factor as you look back on this election? >> the significant factor, i don't know if it's deciding, but you look inside the polls in ohio, you can see that barack obama is in a lot stronger shape with blue collar voters in that state than he is with blue collar voters elsewhere in the country. why is that? part of that is because of the auto bailout, because they hammered it so hard, because romney was on the other side, and also because the obama team made a decision very early on to go after mitt romney on bain

capital, on his business experience, capitalize on his wealth and investments and try to make the case that he's not one of us, and it's been very effective. i don't know if that message comes from obama's loins or from his brain, but it seems to have been working so far. >> good to speak with both of you this morning. it is time now for a check of the morning's other top stories. we're happy to say that jenna wolf will be joining us on saturdays as well as sundays. she's at the news desk this morning. >> good morning to you guys. two penn state administrators face charges. gary schultz and tim curley were arraigned on friday. sandusky, the school's former assistant football coach is serving a minimum 30-year prison sentence for sexually abusing ten boys. an iraq war contractor has been fined $85 million by a jury

in portland, oregon. veshl the verdict came in the case of a dozen soldiers who developed respiratory problems. kbr has been ordered to pay each of the soldiers about $7 million in damages. the pentagon has released more details to the military response to the september assault in benghazi. two teams of special operations forces deployed from central europe and the united states, but the attack that left the u.s. ambassador and three other americans dead had ended before they could get there. u.s. officials are trying to refute news reports that say the cia told its personnel to stand down. the true that will decorate the grounds of the u.s. capital for the holidays is being prepped for its trip to washington. the 73-foot spruce was harvested friday from white river national forest in colorado. crews will take two days wrapping the tree before it makes its way east. most of the transportation costs are being paid through private donations and sponsored.

and in another holiday sign, the tradition is back in full force. butter ball has opened its annual turkey talk phone line. people can now call 1-800-butter ball to ask questions or get cooking advice from experts through december 24th. the company has provided the consumer help line every holiday season since 1981. the most popular question asked of the hotline. i have the turkey -- now what? that's the news. now back to lester and erica. >> thanks. dylan dreyer now with a check of your weather. >> the last thing the east coast wants to talk about is another storm, but we are watching for the potential of a big storm moving in wednesday and thursday, so right after the election. there are some variations in the different computer models, but both of them keep this storm close to new jersey and close to new england as we go into wednesday night and into thursday as well. this is going to be another rainmaker.

also potential problems across the eastern seaboard because we don't really have a whole lot of beach left. and any rise in the surge could >> we are going to see a huge change in the weather and highs drop into the 50s by next friday. >> and that is your latest forecast. lester? >> thanks. back now to the aftermath of hurricane sandy. new york city still under water. how can it be prevented from happening again? richard engel has that story. good morning.

>> reporter: this could be a wake-up call for people to start seeing that infrastructure is national security. for the last ten years, the united states has made its national security priority spreading democracy to towns most people have never heard of in iraq and afghanistan. we've spent over a trillion dollars. we're still spending about 3$30 million a day to do that project. as new yorkers are finding themselves without a home and infrastructure is taking such a beating, maybe people are going to start to ask, is there a better way? new york city, surrounded by water. and now partly under water. the perspective you get from up here is that this is going to take weeks, maybe months. it isn't over yet by a long shot. there's still water down there now? >> yes. we have water almost up to the mezzanine here. >> reporter: at the tip of manhattan, the south ferry subway station is simply out of

commission. from where we are at the top of this water, the top of the flooding, to the very bottom, how deep is this? >> i would say we have about 20 feet to get to the platform. >> reporter: 20 feet. and the tunnel connecting manhattan and brooklyn now holds 40 million gallons of water. blame it on a freak storm, climate change, or both, these are problems new york has never had before. some say they can be prevented from happening again by building sea walls, levees or gigantic surge barriers. oceanography professor like many cities in europe have. >> in the netherlands following a major storm in 1953 which drowned thousands, the government built an extensive series of storm surge barriers. >> if we had the barriers in place during hurricane sandy, we would have had no damage at all. >> this animation produced by a

dutch company shows what a barrier in new york harbor might look like. if a surge was coming, 25 foot high gates would drop. and then they would swing shut to block the water until the danger had passed. >> the surge is completely blocked by the system. >> reporter: but his idea would require years of study and cost $15 billion. just about a third of the estimated cost of rebuilding after sandy. lester, other countries are doing major infrastructure projects as part of national security. china is putting in about 10,000 miles of high speed railway, turkey, istanbul. it is possible. the united states can do this. we're just spending our money on other things. >> so going to spark the conversation. richard, thanks. >> hopefully this is part of the debate. >> still to come, we'll take you inside a hurricane war room. this is home depot. we'll see how they and their

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still to come, how hurricane sandy yy reshaped the u.s. coastline. and what you need to get ready for the next storm. those stories ahead. but first, these messages.

>> good morning. live at the hp pavilion in downtown san jose. they are trying to fill it with other things. if are looking for something to did, check the website. i'm here with rob who has a look at a warming forecast for the weekend. >> if you step outside you won't think it's warm, but we will be warming up into the mid 70s. right now in the 40s. 49 degrees and 53 in san francisco and 51 in oak ljd. you won't find high clouds and the rain off to the north. temperatures start to climb as we go through the next couple of days. hour by hour, high clouds and patchy low clouds on the coast. our temperatures today near 68

in san francisco and mid 70s south of san jose and upper 70s around santa rosa and livermore and the extra hour of sleep tomorrow morning. my favorite time of year. roll the clocks back and temperatures roll up into the 80s inland. >> the smiles. we are happy about that. thank you very much. on the peninsula, four men are in stanford hospital victims of gunshot wounds. is in critical condition. the men were hanging out in front of a home on ivy drive when a black honda and a black acura drove by. neighbors heard a series of gunshots. when officers arrived, they found four men shot and police are looking for the suspects this morning. the shooting took place about a mile west of the facebook campus. in the south bay, former principal faces six months in jail for failing to report the alleged sexual abuse of a

student. she was principal and last year an 8-year-old reported her teacher for unusual behavior in the classroom. she interviewed the teacher and did not report him to police. chandler was arrested and charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts on five children. >> a warping for students at stanford. a female student was assaulted tuesday night. a woman was running at 10:30 when a man grabbed and assaulted her. the suspect was walking with a woman who had blond hair and was walking with her bicycle. san francisco police say the public led them to the man who violently attacked a muni agent last month. it shows the attack and the man. the man that police were looking for.

they say the suspect attacked the muni agent after he said bikes were not allowed. they got a tip that led them to the 20-year-old from san francisco. he was booked into jail on battery charges. coming up this morning on today in the bay, how you can get ahold of a world series collectible for free. all the day's news coming up at 7:00. more local news in 30 minutes.

there's not a problem with your television. that's exactly what parts of new york city look like in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. the lights went out suddenly, and for days, it was very, very dark. only a hint of light in places. in some ways, it really became a tale of two cities. there was the dark downtown and well-lit uptown. for millions, it's been far worse. we'll have much more of that for you throughout the morning. we are back on this saturday morning, november 3rd, 2012. i'm erica hill along with lester holt. coming up in this half-hour, more on that aftermath of hurricane sandy. >> we've seen all the devastation from this storm. it could potentially change the landscape of the u.s. coastline. that's how much of a beating the coast took. we're going to get more on that in just a few minutes. also, if your home was damaged, we have some tips on

rebuilding. and also, we're going to have you take the proper precautions to stay safe when that next storm arrives. a bit later we'll switch gears with a lottery story that's a little tough to believe. a woman that had a winning ticket in her glove compartment didn't even know it. >> she knows it now. >> yes, she does. we all know it. >> it's a great story. let's begin with the road to recovery after sandy. across the country, everyone from electric workers to local charities are rushing to help folks here in the northeast. but few companies are mobilizing quite like the country's largest home improvement chain. gabe gutierrez takes an inside look at home depot's war room. >> reporter: in haslet, new jersey, home depot 926, relief has arrived. >> it's great. it's a great feeling. >> reporter: this new shipment of generators is devoured in just a few minutes. >> so much relief. as of right now, we have no idea when our electric is coming on.

>> we have a sick baby and we're trying to take care of the baby. >> reporter: so how does a company move millions of dollars in merchandise to a storm-ravaged area? >> we've basically been going around the clock. >> reporter: the journey begins more than 800 miles away in suburban atlanta. here in this command center. or what the home depot likes to call its war room. >> awesome, awesome, awesome. >> that's exactly the way you want to think of it, as a war room. we've got folks here 24/7 focused on making sure that we get the right goods to the right place at the right time. >> reporter: about 350 people in several rooms, actually, take emergency orders, monitor news reports and social media, and figure out how to stock stores in ravaged communities. doug spiron says the company has already spent more than 5,000 truckloads since last tuesday. >> there's a high level of urgency. >> reporter: of course the people in this room aren't the

only ones facing a logistical nightmare after sandy. other private companies and federal agencies across the country are working overtime. lowe's, home depot's biggest competitor, the also on the move, sending more than 1,500 trucks to the northeast. elsewhere, the georgia national guard has launched 20 members and two helicopters. >> this is what we train for. >> reporter: and at fema's distribution center in atlanta, they're putting their severe weather experience to good use. >> in the southeast, we have so many disasters that we're just accustomed to doing this. >> reporter: back at home depot's headquarters, they're also used to it. from this war room, they fight a battle of logistics, bringing relief -- >> yea! >> reporter: one generator at a time. for "today," gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. time now for another check of the weather from dylan dreyer. >> today's weather is brought to you by windows 8. >> thanks, lester.

a big group of girls here from -- >> ohio. >> and you're from. >> ashland, kentucky. >> i thought this was big enough, but over here is the rest of the group from kentucky. thanks so much for coming on down to new york. sorry it's a little bit chilly. there's a lot going on here in the city. we are look at some really cool temperatures. unfortunately, you know, with so many people out of power, we're not just talking about temperatures in the 40s. we've got windchills down in the 30s. it has been exceptionally cool around here. and temperatures will be staying below average. unfortunately, through the rest of the weekend into most of next week. and looking ahead into next week, it is going to take until thursday and friday before temperatures start to get just slightly below normal. so we will still stay below normal heading into friday, but it does look like temperatures are not going to warm up any time soon. speaking of kentucky, we do have some rain that talk about with shower here's a look at san jose right now.

fog-free and a chilly start to the morning. 49 in san jose and 47 in livermore. a chill in the air for the morning. we will see high clouds for the afternoon and a little bit of a filtering effect to the is up shine early in the day. temperatures will be nice. mid-70s for most places and upper 60s along the coast and warmer for sunday into monday. could see record highs to start the workweek and temperatures come down with showers starting thursday. and for the latest on your weather, of course you can always check online at weather.com. and it's saturday. that means tomorrow night is "sunday night football" night in america. we're talking about a dome game, at the georgia dome. but the outdoor weather looks cloudy and mild as the cowboys take on the falcons. but it's all about what happens indoors for "sunday night football" night in america. lester, erica? still ahead this morning, rebuilding after hurricane sandy. what you need to know to minimize the damage to your home. but up next, the changes made to the u.s. coastline by

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as millions of people try to recover from sandy, scientists are studying the damage done to u.s. beaches. in some areas, the landscape could be forever changed. here's kerry sanders. >> reporter: for many people, the destruction caused by hurricane sandy will change their lives forever. >> to see these homes disappear like this, it's heartbreaking. and we know it will never be the same again. >> reporter: but beyond the massive destruction we can see, there are changes that are less evident. changes that resculpt and reshape the coastline, sometimes in profound ways. >> one of the lasting legacies of this hurricane from hell could be accelerated beach erosion. i wouldn't be surprised if we lose ten, 15 feet of beach front along the coast of the united states. >> reporter: you can see the damage in newly released photos

from noaa. here's what it looks like now, a much different scene, devastating for people who live here. just days ago, this was a popular shoreline amusement park, until sandy moved the shoreline, and hundreds of homes that used to be beach front were swallowed up as the atlantic ate away the beach. and then there's this on fire island. mother nature resculpted the coast, and in the process, you can see portions of the road collapsed. over the years, fire island itself has gotten bigger and smaller. >> somewhere in this area was the end of fire island. this over the years has built up. >> reporter: now we see mother nature maybe taking some of it back. >> maybe. >> reporter: scientists say you have to go back to the big hurricane of 1938, the one they called the long island express, to find a storm as catastrophic to this area as sandy. that hurricane was so severe, it actually changed the look of long island. and it's now happened again.

>> if you walk down the long island coastline, all that you see is massive washovers, massive amounts of water taking away massive amounts of sand. >> where does it go? >> it goes back into the atlantic ocean. it one point, it may be deposited somewhere else. the ocean geologists will have to determine that. at one point, we may see it again somewhere else. >> reporter: for now, experts say what's gone is lost. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, fire island, new york. >> hard to imagine some of that. up next, no matter where you live, how you can be prepared when another big storm hits. that's right after this. ♪ 99 bushels of wheat on the farm...99 bushels of wheat! ♪

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this morning on "today," the cleanup after hurricane sandy. you're facing a huge cleaning job, you may be wondering on how to get going on your recovery. >> george oliphant can help. >> folks want to get right to it. what are some of the things they can keep in mind? >> safety first, always. you want to make sure you have a good set of rubber boots. maybe sure that you're wearing the proper masks. this is a mask just to make sure you put it on correctly, too. and a lot of times people will leave one of these dangling. you want to make sure you're protecting yourself from any of the bacterias or molds or mildews that are flying in the air. first and foremost, you want to protect yourself while you're doing the cleanup because you want to get in there, start ripping the dry wall out, getting the old furniture that's sopping wet out. because you don't want more mold and mildew and stuff growing in your home. >> there's a little bit of concern before you jump in there and start ripping everything

out, because you're waiting on the insurance, right? and it's going to take a while. so what do you need to do before you slap on your boots? >> what i've been hearing from insurance companies is what we don't want it to get any worse. so definitely take a lot of pictures. document everything. make sure that whatever happened to your house, you have proof of. and then start getting your couches out. start ripping out the old dry wall that's sopping wet that's in your basements, maybe on your first floors depending on how bad you've been hit. curtains. anything that's going to soak up water, you want to get it out of your house, bag it up and get it thrown away. >> food is a huge issue if you've lost power. you brought a cooler here. what's the best way to use a cooler to preserve your things? >> basically, you want to make sure that you have ice in there, of course, and make sure that -- we put a thermometer in our cooler to make sure it was staying below 38 degrees. magic. >> 38 degrees, because we want

to make sure feeding our kids -- eggs, milk, dairy, we want to make sure it's safe. the rule is after 24 hours, freezer 48 hours. once it's without power for that long, you want to get rid of it. >> even if it feels cold. stuff in our fridge felt cold even 48 hours after. >> i know there's the look test. >> smell test. especially with the milk. >> when in doubt, throw it out. but also, the taste test. if it tastes funny, spit it out. the last thing you want to add is sickness and food poisoning to everything else that's going on. i just said err on the side of caution. >> as you're looking at what to do for next time, because we're hearing there could be another nor'easter coming our way. much of the country could see another storm later this year. what are some things we should stock up on? >> it sounds silly, and i know a lot of people after the storms last year were like i'm going to get a generator, and all of a

sudden comes sandy and they're like i never got a generator. i know they're a thousand dollars, $3,000, you don't need that. you can get away with a $200 generator, something that will keep your refrigerator going. >> this will not run a whole house, though. >> but you have to prioritize. what do i want to run? my refrigerator. or i might want to run my sub-pump. if i start getting water in my basement, i have a generator to start getting my sub pump going. >> i want to charge my cell phone. >> these are great for that. you can charge it up off another generator. and basically, you can charge your cell phones, your laptops. we use it to plug a nice lamp in. >> our power came back last week. give me your cell phone. >> i'll send it home with you. >> but it's amazing. first and foremost, you don't want to have candles or kerosene lamps going around your house because of the fire dangers. this is an l.e.d. lamp. it's fantastic. >> those batteries last forever.

we have one we bought for irene that we didn't use. we're using it a lot now. three aa batteries, it's going nonstop. >> have ever different size of battery you can. aas, aaas. >> this is a rare commodity right now in the new york area. the d battery. >> we could make a lot of money off that battery. >> there's a line forming as we speak for those batteries. >> as you're getting ready for hurricane and you're like oh, my gosh, my radio. it takes cs. take those steps, make sure you have the right battery so that when the power does go out, you have everything you need. >> this is a big help. there will be other storms and people will lose power so thanks for this important advice. >> and the last thing is have a ready bag with water, food, and a radio. so worst case scenario, you get flushed out of your house, off few things that help you last 72 hours. >> thank you, george. good to see you. just ahead, something we haven't seen since the '70s. gas rationing here in the northeast. we'll tell you more about that in a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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we should start this conversation, we are all fine. a few have lost power. last week, i went the virginia to do the story on battleground state and ended up -- thank goodness i brought my rubber boots because i ended up on hurricane duty down in virginia beach. >> you could go to the caribbean -- you could go to the bathroom and you'll end up on hurricane coverage. i've never seen anything like it in my entire life. >> i don't know how this happens. erica, you were without power. >> we don't have power. although we're really lucky, because we do have a fireplace. and luckily my mom is about 90 miles away. she and my uncle dick tracked in a bunch of wood for this. my children are just napping, though. it's fine. they brought us some wood. we don't have power. but we do have a fireplace and a gas stove so we can cook. a lot of people much worse off. although it's getting chilly.

>> have you been faring? >> i've been faring. i sometimes get made fun of by you because i'm in the nosebleed section of manhattan, which is the upper west side. lester makes fun of me most of the year. but we were fine on the upper west side. i was up in westchester doing a story on these generator problems that folks are having. if you have a generator, you will host. these become the most popular guys on the block. that's a really small generator, but some of them are a little bit bigger. >> but it still counts. >> they still had a lightbulb going. >> i'm very lucky. i never lost power. i'm in midtown right now. carlson's corner on the jersey shore just wiped out. that's always where i went. >> we're back after this. crisp. two delicious crisps. for 100 calories. so you'll never have to break up with your sweet tooth again. what will you gain when you lose? so you'll never have to break up with your sweet tooth again. online outfit piccolo headphones buy now broadway show megapixels place to sleep little roadster war and peace deep sea diving ninja app

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. >> looking live at the embarcadero on the last day of day light savings time. >> you got me worried there for a second. >> i don't want to spring forward again. rob has a look at the forecast for the last day. >> that's right. we will be seeing temperatures over the weekend and maybe not so much today. you will notice it's chilly through about 9:00 and 40s for many spots. high clouds for the afternoon and the storm track into washington and oregon and moving off to the north as we go through the end of the weekend. mid 70s inland and upper 60s if san francisco and tomorrow we will see a chance of getting close to 80 degrees and could be record highs on monday.

look at the temperatures. this is a weather roller coaster. down into the 5s by friday with chilly showers and in the meantime, gorgeous weather for the weekend and the clock is spinning backwards and we get an extra hour tonight. >> the forecast is turning back a month. >> turning into winter. >> the public led them to the man who violently attacked a muni agent last month. this video shows the attack and the suspect they were trying to find. the man attacked the muni agent after telling the rider bikes were not aloud in the station. they got a tip that led them to 20-year-old devin reilly of san francisco and he was booked into jail. >> she is the other woman. elana lopez. the woman on the other side of the camera phone is speaking out and trying to sway the vote in

san francisco. >> i live in district five next door it a convicted batterer who is our sheriff. christina thinks it's okay to abuse your wife and run a law enforcement agency. >> madison is campaigning against supervisor who replaced her. she voted for mercury news to keep his job. madison was elana lopez's confidant and shot the infamous video. she is explaining how her husband grabbed her arm in a new year's eve fight. a political ad was produced for accountability. we reached out to the campaign for reaction, but have not received anything back. a warning for students and staff at stanford university. school leaders say a female student was assaulted on campus tuesday night. the woman was running on campus

drive around 10:30 and a man grabbed her and assaulted her. the woman said the suspect was walking with a woman whoa had blond hair and was walking with her bicycle. coming up, a closer look at one of california's most heated races, proposition tlofr and a campaign to eliminate the death penalty. see you back in 30 minutes.

welcome back to "today," saturday morning, the 3rd day of november, 2012. a great crowd on the plaza waving hello to friends and family back home. our thanks to them for spending part of their saturday with us. back at studio 1-a i'm here with erica hill. you've got an hour under your belt. it feels good, huh? >> it feels great. i'm going to stick around for another one it's that's all right. >> it's great to have you here. hurricane sandy's aftermath in parts of new york and new jersey, people are waiting in long line foro buy gas. now there are new rules in place in some areas to hopefully ease some of that frustration. across the river in staten island, people in that hard-hit area are finally seeing pockets of hope amidst the devastation. among days of controversy and increasing pressure, new york city's mayor has called off this weekend's new york marathon.

we have complete coverage for you in just a few moments. helping people in those storm-damaged communities was the focus of a telethon broadcast by nbc friday night. native new yorkers christina aguilera, mary j. blige and billy joel were among the headliners. we'll let you know more about that and how you can still help. it's just three days to election day and president obama and mitt romney are making their closing arguments to voters. the election could come down to just a few battleground states, and ohio is at the center of it all. our team is standing by to crunch the numbers for you in just a few minutes. and we've all purchased lottery tickets and basically forgot about them without ever checking the numbers. a california grandmother did the same thing and got a big surprise just in the nick of time. her story is coming up. >> love those stories. we begin this hour with the dropping temperatures and rising tempers as people go without power and gasoline in parts of the northeast. katie is over on the west side outsigh a gas station there.

katie, good morning. i hope everyone is behaving. >> reporter: erica, they are behaving so far but there's always questions on how long that will last. we're at a station at 44th and 10th. at its peak yesterday the line stretched down to 18th street. you can't even see how far they went down. 26 new york city blocks, which is a remarkable time to wait for gasoline. today is much of the same. i can't see how long that line goes. it also stretches over onto 11th avenue. in new jersey, much of the same. lines that are miles long in some cases, people waiting for hours on end. in some cases if they're not running into the gas station on fumes, they are literally being pushed by the people behind them because they have completely run out of gas. that's why governor christie has instituted some new rules to try to alleviate those lines. he said now they're going to start rationing gas. if you have an even-numbered license plate you can only get gas on even numbered calendar days. odd numbered license plate on

odd numbered calendar days. back here in new york the ports have been open and restrictions have been lifted so there's more gas to get in here. at its core this isn't a gas shortage, this is a power issue. a good majority of stations don't have any power so they can't pump any gas and that's why you're seeing incredibly long lines at certain staegtion that are open. the red cross asks anybody that can donate blood, they know there's a disaster but they hope anyone who can will give blood when they can. >> thank you. once again here's lester. thanks. about two and a half million homes and businesses along the east coast remain without power this morning. that's down from a peak of eight and a half million. while things are slowly returning to normal for many people, for others help can't arrive fast enough. michelle franzen is live with more. >> reporter: staten island was the hardest hit, suffering the highest death toll and the

severe damage. some of it you see behind me, these boats tossed around like toys, slammed into homes, and hundreds of people now displaced and living in shelters, upset, they say, that help didn't arrive soon enough. just one of the areas up and down the east coast now trying to cope with sandy's aftermath. desperately needed aid rolled into staten island friday. >> thank you, fema. >> reporter: fema, red cross and the national guard finally on site. it followed days of outrage and pain in new york city's hardest-hit working class community. >> you need to come here and help us. we need assistance. please! >> reporter: homeland secretary janet napolitano got a firsthand look, promising help for the hundreds displaced and living at local shelters. >> staten island took a particularly hard hit from sandy, and so we want to make sure that the right resources are brought here as quickly as

possible. >> reporter: in new jersey, governor chris christie offered a more sobering view of the long road to recovery for the shore communities battered by hurricane sandy's wind and surge. >> my first job is to get your life back to as normal as it can be. that's all about getting power back on, getting gas at the gas stations, getting your kids back in school, and making sure that we have clean water for them to drink. >> it looks like it's coming back on. >> reporter: no new york city's darkened lower manhattan, the power is slowly returning. >> thank you. we're happy, right? we're back to work. >> reporter: along with subway and ferry service. at gas stations, frustrations grew, along with the line lines due to fuel shortages. friday tankers full of gasoline moved into new york's harbor to ease the pain at the pump. >> how are you, ma'am? are you okay? >> reporter: meanwhile, communities are coming together, handing out donated food, clothing and other supplies, crucial comforts for those now

forced to start over. and back here in staten island today, residents will have a chance to pick up some donated items not only from red cross but also from the community that's come together and many people, lester, that have crossed the bridge here to this isolated island to give what they can. >> michelle franzen, thank you. now here's erica. lester, thanks. this year's new york city marathon is over before it ever got started. new york's mayor cancelled it two days before runners hit the starting line. stephanie gosk is in central park with more on that this morning. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. this is the first time in new york city marathon's 40-year history it's ever been cancelled. these are extraordinary circumstances. it's a moment that mayor michael bloomberg announced it was going forward, anger began to build not just among the victims of hurricane sandy but also their public officials and even some runners. it finally hit a tipping point.

in a city devastated by this storm, holding a road race through five battered boroughs finally just seemed like the wrong idea. >> the marathon ceased to be about running and it was all about how best to aid new york city. >> reporter: it was a decision that left some runners disappointed. >> i feel for all the people that have problems, but you don't pull something -- you don't pull the plug at the last minute. he could have made that decision days and days ago. >> reporter: but many city residents relieved. >> i think there's a thin line between demonstrating resiliency and being insensitive. >> reporter: the reversal came as a surprise. mayor michael bloomberg had defended his decision to hold the new york city marathon on sunday, a race that had never been cancelled in its 40-year history. >> new york has to show that we are here and that we are going to recover and give people something to cheer about. >> reporter: but far from cheering, many new yorkers had

been angry about the possibility of diverting city reverssourcesa time of suffering. police, sanitation workers who may have been needed elsewhere. >> they'd rather have the marathon and give the water running rather than the people that need it that don't have house light or heating. >> reporter: food, water and portap portapotty had been trucked to the site. many new yorkers were still in the dark. the outrage of it all has been building for days, especially on staten island, the hard-hit borough where the race was to begin. >> the city of new york right now is preparing for a marathon. we're pulling bodies out of water. do you see the disconnect here? >> reporter: instead of holding a press conference, the mayor released a statement. it reads, we would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants so we have decided to cancel it. we cannot allow a controversy

over an athletic event, even one as meaningful as this, to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track. there will be some relief for people who criticized the marathon but it will probably be short-lived. city has a lot of recovery to do. >> thanks, stephanie. turning to the neck in neck race for the white house. what role will hurricane sandy and the latest jobs numbers play in the election? peter alexander is traveling with the romney campaign and joins us from newington, new hampshire. peter, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you. this is finally the final stretch, a 72-hour sprint. for mitt romney it's going to begin right here in new hampshire. over the next three days these two campaigns are going to hit nine states combined, some of them more than once. there is one thing this morning that both aides -- both sides agree on. that is that this is all about driving up turnout, getting more of their voters to the polls.

>> mitt romney! >> reporter: greeted by his largest crowd all campaign and a lineup of top republican leaders -- >> mitt romney understands the leadership of the united states. >> mitt romney is going to be tough on terrorists and he will call it for what it is. >> no obama! >> reporter: in ohio friday night mitt romney tried to stoke his supporters, heading into the campaign's final weekend. >> at obama rallies they are saying four more years. we have a different cry, of course, what is it? >> four more days. >> exactly right. >> reporter: president obama is also zeroing in on ohio where he's hosting more rallies. 23 than in any other state. >> and that's why i need you, ohio, to make sure their voices are heard. to make sure your voices are heard. we've come to far to turn back now. >> reporter: where do things stand? a new nbc news poll shows the president leads governor romney

among likely voters in ohio by six points. in florida, mr. obama is clinging to a two-point advantage. on friday, both sides tried to spin the final jobs report before election day that showed 171,000 new jobs last month. even as the unemployment rate ticked up closer to 8%. >> we learned that companies hired more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. >> we learned that it's actually 7.9%, and that's nine million jobs short of what he promised. >> reporter: again, live now in new hampshire, governor romney will be here this morning. the president will be here tomorrow. mitt romney will be back here on monday, lester. it gives you a good sense of just how close this race is nationally. it remains a dead heat with four electoral votes in this state, ear one of those places that either one of these places can afford to let go. >> peter alexander, thanks. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning. good to see you.

>> reporter: good morning, lester. >> 50 states but this campaign is down to just a handful of them. read the map for me and tell me where they're going. >> reporter: you know, i think the map is a better way to look at this campaign than the numbers. look at president obama's map here and look at the state of ohio. these are all the states, he's going to visit seven of them in the next three days. if you look at ohio, it looks like an airline hub for air force one. it's as if he's got to change planes before he goes to virginia or florida or iowa or wisconsin. you also see he's got mulple stops. they're going to take him to iowa and wisconsin. i'll explain that in a few minutes but it's all part of his midwest firewall. you look at mitt romney's schedule, also as busy. yes, you see two stops in ohio over the next three days. but look at this one here, lester, pennsylvania. that is -- it depends on who you talk to. some say it's an insurance policy for the romney campaign because they're worried they can't win ohio. others say it is him trying to get his 300 electoral votes, show that he's got momentum and show that he's got something in

this race that could take him much farther than this narrow bath to 270. >> polls start closing at 7:00 on the east. tell me what you'll focus on. what will you be looking at as a bellwether. >> reporter: half the battleground has polls close at 8:00. pennsylvania also closes. this is all the polls that close before 9:00 p.m. a couple of things. virginia 7:00 p.m. and florida. if you believe mitt romney is narrowly ahead in both of those states, how quickly do we call them? does he win virginia by two or three points, florida by two or three points? if that's the case, it's likely we're close to calling those states by a 9:00. now look at ohio. a poll closing at 7:30. if the president has a three, four, five-point lead like these points show that's a state we'll call earlier. take a look at pennsylvania. if we haven't called it by 9:00. if we're still in a too close to call, lester, that tells you

maybe romney is having a pretty good night. >> as we watch these swing states come together, each candidate really has a legitimate path to victory, correct? >> reporter: they do. i want to show you the easiest paths for the two of them. for the president it's pretty simple. if you look at his campaign schedule, you realize he believes it's pretty simple. he goes to ohio three times and he goes to wisconsin twice. if he just wins those two states, look at his number there. he's sitting at 271. that would mean he could lose florida, he could lose virginia, he could loz case colorado, whi think will be the closest of all the states on election night. he could win new hampshire and he could win iowa. it shows that if romney did all this, by the way, that's the one piece of good news for mitt romney. this is his path without ohio. look at this. if he wins paul ryan's home state, he has a way to get to 270 without ohio. they don't think that's going to be easy because they think wisconsin will be very difficult.

they think iowa will be very difficult. and there's still some question about new hampshire. and if that's the case, and you look at those numbers this way, then ohio becomes incredibly crucial to mitt romney. he would need florida, virginia, ohio and colorado. >> and what i read in all that stuff is those of us working election night need to get some sleep, it's going to be a long night. >> reporter: people ask me how long is election night going to be? i say it's going to be a long month. >> chuck todd good, to talk to you. thanks very much. a long month, not even a week. time for a check of some of the other stories this morning. jenna wolfe is at the news desk. >> hey, guys, good morning. an american student has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a fellow student in rome. more now from duncan in our london bureau. >> reporter: authorities took alexander reed into custody on thursday hours after he allegedly stabbed his friend following a night of halloween partying. his lawyer said he is distraught and described reed as a

20-year-old kid who never had a run-in with the law. fabio is hospitalized after suffering multiple stab wounds. both men were students at an american college in rome. >> they were best friends. they are best friends. i hope they still are. >> reporter: a bizarre coincidence, this attack happened on the fifth anniversary of the murder of a british student which led to the arrest and eventual acquittal of american amanda knox. investigators in this case say the motive is unclear but suspect drugs and alcohol might have been a factor. two penn state administrators have been charged with covering up the jerry sap dus key sex abuse scandal. gary schultz and tim curley were both araa -- arraigned on frida. most americans will be able to get an hour -- an extra hour of sleep tonight thanks to the

annual shift back to standard time. officially the change occurs at 2:00 a.m. sunday, but most people will set their clocks back before they go to sleep. fire safety officials remind you this is a good time to change your batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. prince charles and his wife camilla got quite a welcome in new guinea this morning. after they stepped off their plane they were given a traditional greeting by, let's just go ahead and say it, topless women who presented them with leis. no additional comment necessary on that. the 13-day tour is part of queen elizabeth's diamond jubilee. that is the news. now let's get a check of the weather from dylan. thanks, jenna. we are here with a big group from the netherlands. they cheered for me when i came out and i knew they must not have been from around here. you were going to run in the marathon but you're offering your serves now? >> yes. we're offering our services to

help the people here. >> that's wonderful. so many people need help, especially in the new york city area, so thank you for that. and we are talking, unfortunately, about another storm. and it looks like wednesday night into thursday would be the time frame. these are two different computer mod model, and you can see one goes into new jersey and one into new england so we're looking at strong winds, the potential for heavier rain. we don't have a lot of beach left, especially in new jersey, so flooding could be an issue even with a minor storm surge. it does look like we could end up with another couple inches of rain. that's something we'll be watching

. >> warmer spots will be live more and santa rosa. a chance of record temperatures at 80 inland and cooling with showers arriving thursday and friday. and that's your latest forecast. lester, erica? >> still to come, we'll help you get to know erica a little better. but first, these messages. for ra

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a backup band that wasn't too shabby. steven tyler, bruce springsteen and billy joel singing backup to jimmy fallon at last night's benefit concert for the victims of hurricane sandy right here on nbc. and the music did not end there. >> no, it did not. later on his own show jimmy and his house band joined christina aguilera for her song. no instruments, though. just some office supplies. ♪ >> that's pretty cool. they should record it. >> they did. >> they did? . we'll have more on the concert ahead. >> we're back in a moment, but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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morning, the lottery winner who almost wasn't. >> but first these messages. ♪ 99 bushels of wheat on the farm...99 bushels of wheat! ♪

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. good morning. live from the epiryville camera. traffic is moving smoothly and will be brighter this time tomorrow. rob is here with a look at the weekend forecast that will fall back tonight. >> that's right. the extra hour of sleep. the weather is good too. you will notice things into the afternoon, but dress in layers so you can be fine with a winter coat this morning with the 40s and 50s. filtered sunshine and mid-and high level clouds and tossing rain way to the north. we are seeing the outer frirchlg, but by the afternoon low to mid 70s for most places including the santa clara valley, east and north bay valleys. tomorrow monday and tuesday and close to records.

if you can get into the area, we can do that. temperatures drop thursday and friday. highs from the 80s into the 50s by the end of the week with chilly showers on the way. >> thank you very much. on the peninsula, four men are at stanford hospital victims of gunshot wounds. one is in critical condition and the men were hangings out near wind mere at 8:00 when a black honda and black acura drove by. neighbors heard a series of gunshots. when officers arrived, they found the four men shot. police are looking for suspects this morning. the shooting happened about a mile west of the facebook campus. in the south bay, a former principal faces six months for failing to report the alleged sexual abuse of a student. she was principal at san jose elementary school and last year an 8-year-old reported her

teacher for unusual behavior in the classroom. he interviewed the teacher and did not take it to police. chandler was arrested for committing lewd and lascivious acts on five children. >> a warning for students and staff at stanford where leaders say a female student was assaulted on campus tuesday night. a woman was running and said a man grabbed and assault assaulted her. the suspect was walking with another person, a woman who had blond hair and was walking her bicycle. san francisco police say the public led them to a man who violently attacked a muni agent last month. they show the attack and the suspect that police were trying to find. investigators say the man attacked the agent after he told them bikes were not allowed in the station. that led them to devin reilly of san francisco who was booked on

battery charges. coming up this morning on today in the bay, how to get ahold of world series collectibles for free. always good. we have all the day's news for free and the changing forecast all at 7:00, 30 minutes from now. see you then.

we are back on this saturday morning, november 3rd, 2012. thanks for creating this crisp, fall weather. i'm erica hill along with lester holt, jenna wolf and dylan dreyer. still to come today, we have a great story of rags to riches. >> i think this is my favorite story of the day. it's about a grandmother who buys a lottery ticket, forgets about it, shoves in her pocket or a drawer someplace. doesn't realizehe's a millionaire when she's struggling to pay the bills. the fact is, she's sitting on some cold hard cash. we'll tell you more about her story coming up. >> not some. a considerable amount of cold hard cash. then a big benefit concert here last night at nbc. some very big named stars were out to raise money for the

victims of hurricane sandy. two of new jersey's favorite sons, bruce springsteen, jon bon jovi joined billy joel and christina aguilera among others. we'll fill you in on the rest of the a-listers that made their way down here to raise money. a bit later on, we're going to find out a little bit more about the newest member of our weekend team, erica hill, from erica's secret talents. there's your secret talents. and what she was like growing up. >> my friend jamie may no longer be my friend after she sent that video in. >> great hair. just wanted to point that out. >> thank you. >> wanted to make you feel welcome. before we can get to all of those embarrassing, fun moments, dylan is here with another check of the weather. >> talking about the breeze, the chill in the air, unfortunately in areas where we do have the power outages, temperatures will be staying below average. we have some rain to talk about through tennessee.

we are going to see some snow showers through dakotas as well in. the northeast, it is going to be chilly, staying chilly across the northeast, areas without power, about ten degrees below average tomorrow as well. some showers start to move in in the southeast, and that is part of our next storm that looks to make its way into the mid-atlantic region possibly by wednesday into thursday. so that is certainly something we're keeping an eye on as . here's a look at the drive across the san mateo bridge high-rise. dry roads which is a nice segue. high clouds mixed in with sunshine. 70s and close to 70 for san mateo. a bit of a warm up to finish off the weekend ask start the week, but as quickly as it warms up, a big drop in temperatures with showers returning. enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures for now. big changes at the end of the seven-day. >> a little bit about me.

i am german. that's my dad's side is german. so i recognize the language here on this sign. and you said your german teacher is watching? >> yeah. it says that i'm in her class. >> that's extra credit right here. guaranteed a-plus for your german class. for the forecast any time, of course, you can always go to weather.com. and today is saturday. tomorrow is sunday. and it is football night in america. it's an indoor game, but outside, the weather is looking cloudy and mild as the cowboys head to the southeast to take on the falcons. as we look at your forecast for sunday night, football night in america. indoors and outdoors. lester, jenna, erica? we've all bought a lottery ticket. maybe more than one. maybe tucked it away, you never checked the number. one california woman did the same thing. with days to go until the jackpot expired, she almost lost out on not just a few dollars, millions of dollars. >> jenna is back now with more

on this story. hey, jenna. >> here's the deal. julie went from rags to riches literally overnight and she found out about her fortune in a very unusual way. for the past five months, julie has been driving around with $23 million in her glove compartment and she didn't even know it. >> i've got, like, 200 tickets laying around. >> she does. >> the los angeles mother of five who lived on disability for 20 years and struggles financially pulled into this california store back in may after her daughter complained she felt car sick. >> she's like, get me a lottery ticket. i was like no, no, no. i'm just getting water. >> after she insisted her daughter get the ticket, she threw it in her glove compartment and forgot about it. with time rung out before the ticket expired, lottery officials published a grainy surveillance video of a woman in a blue shirt and dark pants thought to be the mystery

winner. >> oh, my god, it is me! it just clicked. i did buy a lotto ticket. >> the two sisters called their mom and told her to watch the video. >> and it was charlena. i thought she robbed a bank. >> but she was about to get the shock of her life. >> and it said she won, and i was like no way. >> first stop, the glove box. >> so we went back and there it was right there. >> she says she'll opt for the lump sum of $23 million, and after treating her children and grandkids to disney land -- >> i have two special children in my life that i adopted as a widow. and a big portion is going to them. so when i'm gone, they'll be okay. >> so what's the lesson here? sure, you can buy a ticket. sure, you might actually win. but you will never win if you

don't actually check the numbers after you bought the ticket. >> i was commenting earlier. when you find a $10 bill in an old pair of jeans. this kind of moment. times $22 million. >> for lester, finding a ten dollar bill in his pocket is like this woman winning $23 million. it's just as exciting. no, i totally gree lagree. >> you can buy a couple starbucks. jenna, thanks. up next, stars coming together. >> every cent counts. we appreciate anything. that i ce for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away.

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some of the biggest names in entertainment came together friday night to raise money for the victims of hurricane sandy. >> those with roots in new jersey like bruce springsteen and jon bon jovi joined new york natives christina aguilera, mary j. blige, billy joel and others. >> and sarah haynes is here with more. >> hi, guys. many who are from this area came together for this incredibly heartfelt effort on very short notice. ♪ i am beautiful >> reporter: staten island's own christina aguilera kicked off the star-studded fundraiser to help those hit hard by sandy.

>> here in new york city, hundreds of thousands of people sit tonight in darkness. >> reporter: organized in part by our own matt lauer. the benefit was put together quickly while the spotlight remains on the devastated areas. >> knowing how much those people out there have already been through over the last ten years, you start to think why do we ask these people to deal with so much? i decided the make the call the next morning. >> growing up on the jersey shore as a short jewish -- sorry. >> reporter: among those who answered the call, brian williams and fellow new jersey native jon stewart. >> i think that's my line. >> reporter: kidding aside, backstage stewart says sandy literally and figuratively hit home. >> and so now it's our house. it's a strange feeling to kind of swallow your pride a little bit. because even to say it like hey, man, we need help, it's not an easy thing to do.

♪ just a hometown boy born a rolling stone ♪ >> reporter: themes for the night ranged from nostalgia to defiance. ♪ so glad the worst is over >> reporter: and resilience. ♪ question start building now >> reporter: all with the single goal that fans open their hearts and their wallets. >> when a celebrity gets up and says please, will you help a victim of a storm, the public who adores them transfers that adoration to reaching in their pocket and helping. >> reporter: artists and celebrities standing side by side to help the places they call home. and the giving won't just stop with last night's airing. as awareness of concert builds over the internet and by word of

mouth, experts believe that people will continue to donate. >> that's was very cool. what a lineup. >> it was amazing being stuck in a hallway. so often when we do production, it's one group. when you see that many people come together, you're watching duck springsteen duck under a boom. it truly was indicative of it takes a village. >> and put together in just a couple days. sarah, thanks very much. if you'd like to help, you call 1-800-help-now or text the word "redcross" to 9099 to make a donation. up next, we get to know erica a little better. >> chris

this morning, we're welcoming erica hill as the new co-anchor of "weekend today." we're happy to have her join us and thought this would be the perfect opportunity for you to get to know herbert, so we invite you to take a look.

>> for me, this is the pinnacle of morning television. it's the "today" show. and one of the things that i love most about morning tv is it's a mix of news and fun. and i think that's who i am as a person. >> why are you bag on the panda? >> get everybody in shape. >> growing up, she was a little bit of a wise guy. i remember she was 2 years old and i said you stay in bed and don't you get out of that bed again. and i turned around and she said hey, mom. and she went -- to me. that was what she did to me. >> i don't have any good secret talents. although i do do a mean fish face, which i've done since i was a kid. so prepare yourself. >> i had a fifth grade christmas party one time, and we're downstairs in my basement, and erica jumps in front of the camera and starts doing this dance.

she's always commanded the attention of the camera. from day one, you knew she was destined to do great things. >> i remember growing up with her and just constantly being together. >> heather and i driving around with a billy joel tape in the car, listening to "only the good die young." playing the song and stopping it and playing it. ♪ don't make me wait i told you i couldn't sing. >> something about erica that nobody would know would be that she had spiked hair and a mullet. >> i would actually like to clear this up. it wasn't a mullet. i mean, there was a party going on in the front. but it wasn't a mullet. >> it was a mullet. >> happy halloween, little monsters! >> erica really is the person she presents to the world. >> when i think of erica on tv and off tv, there's not really any difference. the only difference is hair and makeup. let's be honest. >> hey, i'm in love. >> i love you, too. this is going to work out very

well. >> we got married in october of 2005. ♪ unforgettable that's what you are ♪ >> i did meet my husband at work. >> i was a stage manager. >> he tells that story better than i do. i like it when he tells it. it's cute. >> i ran by this glass booth that they set up for erica. and i literally stopped in my tracks. it was kind of a lightning bolt moment. weston will be 6 in november and sawyer is 2 1/2. i think she does an incredible job balancing a demanding career with raising a family. ♪ i see trees of green >> i really look up and admire both of my parents. they taught me all those things that i hope i can instill in my

kids. kindness, honesty, and empathy. my dad's big thing was just never lie to me. >> the last few years of his life was extremely difficult. he had neck cancer. >> he was one of the bravest people i ever met. he really taught me to appreciate the little moments in life. because you never know when they're going to go away. >> there's been times when something exciting would happen and she would call me up and the first thing would be oh, i wish dad was here so i could tell him. >> the first time i filled in for katie, my dad had just passed away and i was so proud that night, but also because i knew how proud my dad would have been. you know, there's this great thing you can do on your cell phone plan where you can just kind of keep it as an emergency phone, so we call to hear his voice. so i called his phone just to say hey, pops, just got off the set, and this time i wasn't an intern. i love breaking news. and i always will. >> we begin wit the latest on some of day's biggest stories. some incredible news coming out of iraq.

>> but if it's a story that i have a little time to work on, i love telling stories about people. people who you've probably never heard of before, but who have a story that inspires me or i hope will inspire someone else in some way. i'm extremely proud. >> i think that "weekend today" is very lucky to have her as a new anchor. >> she's a hard worker. she's dedicated. >> nbc is getting an exceptional talent, but more importantly, an exceptional person. >> watch out, nbc, because you've got your hands full. >> it's the "today" show. i'm really excited. i'm humbled at the chance to sit in that chair. >> wow, first day and you have some tears, nice. >> myself in tears, too. thank you to mary carr who put that together, one of our

producers here, who i have the privilege of working with a second time. and to my friends and family who sat down with that. >> we're hoping to get to meet them, your family, as well. and you're part of our family now. can we get a show of hands here, mullet or no mullet? >> that was a mullet. >> it was like a lion's mane. i like to think of it as the statue of liberty. >> it was statue of liberty-esque. >> showing my patriotism. and fine makeup skills there. >> we'll be right back. but first, these messages.

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really good to be here. so thanks for having me. >> of course. welcome. >> i love being here. >> as many years as i've been out here, i walk here and it's 30 rockefeller plaza. it doesn't get old. >> just wait for the tree. once that christmas tree goes -- >> everything is going to change around here. >> i'm ready for it. >> that's going to do it for us on a saturday morning. >> we'll see you tomorrow. right back here. have a great day, everyone.

. >> coming up next on today in the bay, hp pavilion will fill with people mourning a firefighter. we will tell you more about his life. as disaster experts watch the east coast recover from sandy y they say we could fare much worse in a disaster. we will show you how to get your hands on giants world series memorability for free. today in the bay is coming up in two minutes. [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents

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>> good morning. looking live at the streets of downtown san jose. a nice sky in the distance and a little different this time tomorrow. thank you very much for joining us. i'm kris sanchez and i'm here with rob on the last day of daylight savings time. at 2:00 we fall back. >> this would be 6:00 and the sun comes up and sets earlier in the evening. >> we're will be smiling and be a little bit more